Indian Autos blog

What does Maruti Suzuki, General Motors, Nissan and Ashok Leyland have in common? Well, they are prepping to take on the mighty Toyota Innova in the Indian MPV market. But the king of the MPV segment might face tough competition from yet another rival. It’s not an MPV or a car for that matter.

It’s actually a bike from TVS. Caught testing with full occupancy which includes a husband and his wife, four kids, a dog, a puppy and tons of luggage, the MPV has oodles of torque for sure!

TVS’s most stylish step-through, the Rockz, sold all these years in Indonesia, has been caught testing in Chennai. Click here to see it.

Mahindra’s A02 (not Cevalo) and Diablo debut in Mumbai on the 30th. Details here.

TVS has confirmed that it will relaunch the 125cc Flame twin-spark in the Indian market in the coming months. Read about the twin spark Flame here.

Suzuki sends us an invitation for a press conference on the 25th. Is it for the launch of the Slingshot 125? Read about the Suzuki press conference here.

The Hero Honda Super Splendor facelift is coming soon and we have spyshots! Click here to see Hero Honda Super Splendor spyshots.

TVS Jive is India’s first clutch-free motorcycle

Two New Launches from TVS Motor Company

~TVS Jive and TVS WEGO to hit the market~

Chennai November 25, 2009: TVS Motor Company today unveiled two novel products – India’s first auto-clutch motorcycle and an automatic scooter. Unveiling the new motorcycle and scooter, the company’s Chairman, Mr. Venu Srinivasan asserted that these two products are set to transform the very definition of city commuter biking. Ride convenience is the focal point and both products will provide a sporty riding experience with an unparalleled combination of comfort, performance, ease of operation and fuel efficiency.

Christened TVS Jive, the new motorcycle is propelled by a 110 cc engine which features innovative T-Matic technology* (patent applied for) which features a rotary gear technology coupled with an automatic clutch. The bike’s four speed engine delivers a solid four stroke performance with 8.1 Bhp @ 7500 rpm and a torque of 8.1 Nm @ 5500 rpm. TVS Jive’s light weight at 110 Kgs makes it convenient to handle. Alloy wheels complement the bikes wheelbase of 1260 mm which makes cornering and maneuvering effortless. The bike has a fuel tank capacity of 12 litres with two litres as reserve.

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Success of the Scooty brand will pull customers towards the bigger and more powerful scooter

The new 100cc TVS scooter is designed to target market leader Activa, which sells in large numbers (55,000 units a month). The body, unlike other scooters, is built using metals and will pricing is expected close to the 45k rupee mark.

The 100cc TVS scooter, according to sources, will be capable of good acceleration and speed. The handling is also regarded to be close to the Activa’s.

Dealers of TVS motorcycles claim the good brand image the Scooty enjoys in India will help provide the 100cc scooter with a solid start. Even if it does a third of the 55,000 units the Activa does, TVS would be happy with it, convey company sources.

The TVS Flame is now available with twin spark technology

In the year 2007, when TVS launched Flame with twin-spark technology, it was forced to halt production due to a patent case violation lodged by Bajaj. Bajaj claimed it developed and patented the twin spark plug technology in 2002 and TVS was illegally utilizing its technology.

However on September 16, the Supreme Court allowed TVS Motor to sell the Flame brand with the twin spark plug technology. The court has also directed the suit before the Madras High Court, which is to be concluded by November 30.

After the court’s decision arrived in their favour, TVS Motor Co Ltd said on Friday that it reintroduced its “Flame” brand of motorbikes that feature twin spark plugs, after obtaining the necessary legal clearances.

You can catch biker boy Nazish’s review of the TVS Flame here.

The competition will be closely watching the market reaction towards this new technology

If sources are to be believed TVS is planning to launch a bike with automatic clutch system within a few months. This means the rider would be free from applying the clutch while shifting the gears. The gears would be shifted without the use of a clutch and the company also claims that there would not be any impact on the bike’ performance such as its pickup and top speed.

Although TVS isn’t willing to disclose much info about this product at this point of time, insiders say this project has been in the pipeline for the last 18 months or so.

This bike would be placed in the executive segment which is ruled by Hero Honda at present. It would be interesting to see how TVS positions this bike as far as its cost is concerned and what mileage it would be capable of.

As in case of gearless scooters, this bike could lure women riders as well who have keen interest in motorcycles but couldn’t find an appropriate product for their commute till now.

This bike will bring with itself a new technology in the biking world in India and it would be interesting to assess its performance.

TVS Motors will launch a 100cc scooter and motorcycle for the executive segment by the completion of the current financial year. At present, TVS manufactures two scooters — Scooty Pep and Scooty Streak — belonging to the sub-100cc segment.

Technical specifications of the vehicles are not known, but both the vehicles will be built at the company’s Hosur plant.